Ashley Delgado Lopez
Professor Anna Voisard
FIQWS- RCA
November 12, 2020
A Peek Through Cinderella
We have all heard of Cinderella at some point, but have you gone over the fundamentals of her family? In most versions of Cinderella, she had no biological parents to look after her. Cinderella had to make her own path and be set free from the horrible treatment of her stepmother and stepsisters. With all the struggles she had to go through was she actually able to manage a happy ending? In all the versions of Cinderella, she was able to do so. Many of the versions have some sort of helping guide for Cinderella. Some may even have a representation of a biological parent. With these helping guides, Cinderella was able to get to the point she needed to be in order to be “happy.” The parents being physically there for Cinderella was not needed or necessary. In Fairy Tales, an absent parent can lead to the main protagonist’s happy ending.
Bruno Bettelheim’s “Cinderella” in The Uses of Enchantment, revolves around the meanings behind the fairy tale and others, and also what they present. For example, “Another child being given special attention becomes an insult only if the child fears that, in contrast, he is thought little of by his parents , or feels rejected by them” (Bettelheim). Bettelheim is comparing Cinderella and Josep, from the bible. Bettelheim is showing that both of them had a hard time actually being recognized by their parents and they both had a feeling of neglect towards them by the parents. Parents ought to have favoritism among their children. Constance Grady’s “The Slippery genius of the Cinderella story”, Grady states, “Cinderella stories have consistently focused on a heroine whose mother has died, and whose father’s new wife favors her biological children over her” (Grady). Cinderella, who’s the main protagonist in the story, is always neglected by her stepmother. The stepmother treats her biological daughter better than how she treats Cinderella. Cinderella is referred to as a heroine because she manages to escape her neglectful household when she wants to go to the ball. As she escapes to the ball, she is able to meet the prince and stand out to him, she manages to find her “happy ending” without her biological parents being physically there for her.
Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm’s “The Original Folk and Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm: The Complete First Edition” version of Cinderella explores the fundamentals of nature and how that serves as a connection to the parents even if they died. For example, “Plant a little tree on my grave, and whenever you are otherwise in a predicament, then I’ll send you help. Just stay good and pure” (Grimm 69). In the Grimm’s version of Cinderella the biological mother of Cinderella has died. There is a presentation of the biological mother within nature, more specifically a tree. Before the mother dies, she asks Cinderella to plant the tree on top of her grave and tells Cinderella to wish her desires to the tree and the mother will grant them to her because she will watch over her. The only thing the biological mother asks from Cinderella is to stay “pure.” This would indicate that even though the mother figure for Cinderella is deceased, there is still some sort of image of her within this version of the story. In Katie Mancino’s “Dads, Daughters, And Disney: The Historical Trajectory Of Fairy Tale Fathers And Daughters,” she explains how Nature is being portrayed in the versions of Cinderella. For example, “In some stories, like Basile’s and the Grimms’, this magic emanates from a natural source, usually a tree instilled with the power of fairies (in Basile’s story) or the power of a mother’s love in the grimms’” (Mancino). The source of nature is presented as a powerful source within many versions of Cinderella. Such as in the Grimm brother’s version where it is based off of a “mother’s love.” The absent parent is still being represented and the Grimm brother’s show that the absent parent is still being a sort of help towards Cinderella. Meanwhile the father who is still physically presented has not taken any sort of action for the well being of Cinderella. But even with this absent parent, Cinderella is still able to proceed to her “happy ending” later on in the story.
In Karlyn Crowley and John Pennington’s, “Feminist frauds on the fairies? Didacticism and liberation in recent retellings of ‘Cinderella’”, they state, “Cinderella is allowed to try, and when the slipper fits, ‘the stepmother and the two sisters were horrified and turned pale with rage’(472). The tale ends with Cinderella’s marriage.” (Karlyn Crowley and John Pennington). Although Cinderella had to struggle a lot before she got her happy ending, she was still able to get married to the prince. Cinderella was able to get to that point without her physical biological parents being there. With the help of nature and godmothers in other versions of Cinderella, she was able to make her happy ending happen. In Christy Williams, “Who’s Wicked Now? The Stepmother as a fairy-tale heroine,” Williams is able to explain the reasoning behind the wicked stepmother and why she was created. Williams states, “Thus, Cruelty to her new husband’s biological children would be a way to ensure survival for her own biological children…usually enter[ing] stories like ‘Cinderella’…” (Williams). The stepmother in many stories is a representation towards the step siblings. The stepmother serves as a help and guide for her biological children since they are not able to do anything for themselves. If the stepmother is cruel to the husband’s biological children then the stepmother will be insured about her children taking in most of the opportunities.
In Conclusion, the representation of biological parents in fairy tales is very minimal. If there were to be any representation of the biological parents, it would be through a form of magic or nature. Cinderella, specifically, is only left were her step mother throughout various versions of Cinderella, Cinderella’s father might be mentioned in the beginning but he is not referenced anymore later on in the story. Same goes for the mother, she would be mentioned at the beginning sometimes, and if this happens it would be because she plays a role as a magical source or a helping hand to Cinderella. Neither biological parents physically appear, leaving Cinderella alone. Cinderella has to take care of herself and be a servant to the stepmother and the stepsisters. But even with those struggles she was able to make her life better without her biological parents. The fairytale shows that in most cases, the leading protagonist is able to accomplish a happy ending, in this case, Cinderella.
Works Cited
Bettelheim, Bruno. The Uses Of Enchantment. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1989
Crowley, Karlyn, and John Pennington. “Feminist frauds on the fairies? Didacticism and
liberation in recent retellings of ‘Cinderella’ ” Marvels & Tales, Vol. 24, Issue 2, 2010, p. 297+
Grady, Constance. “The Slippery genius of the Cinderella story” Vox, Vox, 29 May 2019
https://www.vox.com/the-highlight/2019/5/29/18524129/cinderella-grimms-perrault-basile-daulnoy-rebecca-solnit-jack -zipes-ruth-bottigheimer-fairy-tales
Grimm, Wilhelm, Grimm, Jacob. The Original Folk and Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm: The Complete First Edition,
Princeton University Press, pp 69-77
Mancino, Katie, “Dads, Daughters, And Disney: The Historical Trajectory Of Fairy Tale Fathers And Daughters” (2013).
Honors Theses. 168 https://digitalcommons.bucknell.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1167&context=honors_theses
Williams, Christy. “Who’s Wicked Now? The Stepmother as fairy-tale heroine” Marvels & Tales, Vol.24, Issue 2, 2010, p. 255+
